Riverina Regional Library Annual Report 2012/2013

Contents RRL Branch Library Reports Chairperson’s Report RRL Advisory Committee RRL Headquarters Staff RRL Branch Libraries Staff

Adelong Library

28-29

5-7

Ariah Park Library

30-31

8

Batlow Library

32-33

Coolamon Library

34-35

4

9-10

RRL Executive Director’s Report

11-13

Cootamundra Library

36-37

New Mobile Library Rolls Into Town

14-15

Culcairn Library

38-39

Vision, Mission, Values and Strategy

16

Gundagai Library

40-43

RRL Administration

17

Henty Library

44-47

RRL Outreach and Promotions

18-21

Junee Library

48-49

RRL Support and eServices

22-25

Talbingo Library

50-51

RRL 2012 - Year of Technology

26-27

Temora Library

52-53

Tumut Library

54-57

Wagga Wagga City Library

58-63

RRL Statistics

64-67

RRL 2012-2013 Member Council Contributions

68

RRL Distribution of Population

69

Future 2013-2014

2

70-71

3

Cr Yvonne Braid RRL Advisory Committee Chairperson The Riverina Regional Library (RRL) Annual Report details what has been accomplished during the past year.

Two extra special events occurred during the year. Firstly, the purchase of a new Mobile Library and secondly, the proposed inclusion of the councils of Corowa, Tumbarumba and Urana and of course, the extra services to Greater Hume Shire.

I know that many congratulations have been relayed to RRL staff for all their extra efforts associated with these two new additions to the organisation, but I feel it would be remiss of me not to mention it again here. The efficient management of matters during this very busy time was appreciated by all and I am sure that our current and new library users are very grateful for the way staff have handled this process.

I would like to extend a special thank you to RRL staff for all their hard work during the year and especially for making it so enjoyable. I am sure next year will also be very rewarding.

The Annual Report tells the story of the services that the Riverina Regional Library staff have brought to the people of the region. It is well worth reading.

I commend it to you.

Cr Yvonne Braid Chairperson Riverina Regional Library Advisory Committee

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Coolamon Shire Council

Cr Grant Beard

Delegate

Mr Terrey Kiss, General Manager Executive Committee

Delegate

Mr Tony Donoghue, Deputy General Manager and Planning & Environmental Services

Inspiring People

Riverina Regional Library Advisory Committee 2012-2013

Alternate

Cr Rosalind Wight

Delegate

Mr Ken Trethewey, General Manager Executive Committee

Delegate

Cr Doug Phillips

Alternate

Greater Hume Shire Council

Cr Stuart Heriot

Delegate

Mr David Smith, Director Corporate & Community Services

Delegate

Cr Annette Schilg

Alternate

Gundagai Shire Council

Cr Peter Batey

Delegate

Mr Michael Brady, General Manager

Delegate

Cr Abb McAlister

Alternate

Connecting Communities

Enriching Lives

Cootamundra Shire Council

5

Inspiring People

Riverina Regional Library Advisory Committee 2012-2013 Junee Shire Council

Cr Pam Halliburton Executive Committee

Delegate

Mr James Davis, General Manager

Delegate

Mr John Whitfield, Manager Corporate Services

Alternate

Connecting Communities

Enriching Lives

Lockhart Shire Council

6

Mr Rod Shaw, General Manager

Delegate

Cr Gail Driscoll

Delegate

Cr Greg Verdon

Alternate

Temora Shire Council

Cr Rachael Schliebs

Delegate

Mr Gary Lavelle, General Manager

Delegate

Cr Graham Coates

Alternate

Tumut Shire Council

Cr Geoff Pritchard

Delegate

Mr Allan Tonkin, Manager Corporate Services

Delegate

Cr Margaret Isselmann

Alternate

Cr Yvonne Braid Chairperson

Delegate

Cr Dallas Tout Deputy Chairperson

Delegate

Cr Rod Kendall

Delegate

Cr Kevin Poynter Executive Committee

Delegate

Mr Phil Pinyon, General Manager

Delegate

Cr Garry Hiscock

Alternate

Riverina Regional Library

Mr Robert Knight Executive Director - Riverina Regional Library

Ms Wendy Callis RRL Advisory Committee Minute Taker

Enriching Lives

Connecting Communities

Wagga Wagga City Council

Inspiring People

Riverina Regional Library Advisory Committee 2012-2013

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Riverina Regional Library Headquarters Staff 2012-2013 Riverina Regional Library Support Services Division

Robert Knight Wendy Callis Brian Plummer Helen Graetz Lynn Hackett Clare Morey

Executive Director Administration Officer Coordinator Support and eServices Library Information Technology Services Assistant Collection Services Officer eServices Development Officer

Riverina Regional Library Outreach Services Division

Kelly Shearer Amy Heap Cynthia Price Sharon Smith Anne Reardon Robert Chapman Kaylene Nisbet Doug Simpson Lisa Thomas

Connecting Communities

8

Outreach Services Coordinator (until July 2012) Outreach Services Coordinator (from January 2013) Service Development Officer Children’s and Youth Services Librarian Information Services Officer Mobile Library Operator Support Services Officer Library Assistant Temporary Regional Services Project Officer

Enriching Lives

Inspiring People

Members of Staff 2012-2013 Coolamon Library

Helen McLoughlin

Alex Thompson Sharon Miles Margaret Payton Carmel Walsh

Cootamundra Library

Penny Howse Lynne Thorburn Leanne Jones Rochelle Nicholls Lyn Angus

Officer-in-Charge Casual Relief Staff Casual Relief Staff Casual Relief Staff Casual Relief Staff

Library Manager Assistant Library Manager Library Assistant Library Assistant Casual Relief Staff

Susan Kane Eileen Parascos Jenny Whitlock Jenny Rogan Susan Shanahan Jill Thiele Tarran Essen

Henty Library

Susan Kane Jill Thiele Wendy Knust Tarran Essen Jenny Whitlock

Cindy Smith Leanne Sheahan

Junee Library

Kim Richards Linda Dyer Margaret Kanaley Matthew Glass Sandra Harris Melinda McInerney Kellie Holmes

Officer-in-Charge Casual Relief Staff

Librarian-in-Charge Library Assistant Library Assistant Casual Library Assistant Casual Library Assistant Casual Relief Staff Casual Relief Staff

Riverina Regional Library – Mobile Library

Greater Hume Shire Libraries Culcairn Library

Gundagai Library

General Services Librarian Library Assistant Library Assistant Library Assistant Library Assistant Casual Relief Staff Casual Relief Staff

General Services Librarian Library Assistant Casual Relief Staff Casual Relief Staff Casual Relief Staff

Robert Chapman

Mobile Library Operator

Temora Shire Libraries Temora Library

Eileen England Ros Floyd Carmel Porter

Ariah Park Library

Eileen England Angela Rees

Librarian-in-Charge Library Assistant Casual Relief Staff

Librarian-in-Charge Library Assistant

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Members of Staff 2012-2013 Tumut Shire Libraries Tumut Library

Kristin Twomey Rhonda Twomey Leanne Ballard Sharon Thatcher

Adelong Library

Roslyn Molineaux Susan Barnes Kym Moore

Batlow Library

Robert Beegling Marion Jones Shirlee Straatsma

Talbingo Library

Shirlee Straatsma Christina Gould

Wagga Wagga City Library

Claire Campbell

Information Services/Circulation Team

Margot Lumley

Kate Webber

Sarah Hofsteede

Michelle Lubke

Jenny Mansell

Simon Malloy

Kristy Diffey

Nerida Barkley

Marc Evans

Matthew Dawes 10

Librarian-in-Charge Library Assistant Library Assistant Library Assistant

Library Assistant (retired February 2013) Library Assistant Casual Library Assistant

Library Assistant Casual Relief Staff Casual Relief Staff

Library Assistant Casual Library Assistant

Manager Library Services Information Services Librarian Snr Circulation & Facility Officer Information Assistant Library Assistant Library Assistant Library Assistant Library Assistant Library Assistant Library Assistant Library Assistant

Programs, Promotions and Partnerships Team

Amy Heap Reader Services Librarian

Christine Bolton Team Leader

Carol Slattery Programs Assistant

Jeannie Nicholls (Hazell) Programs Officer

Michael Scutti Programs Officer

Caitlin Enever Programs Officer

Damien Ferguson Programs Officer

Jessica Brown Programs Officer

Andrea Kurta Home Library Officer

Deirdre Coggan Library Assistant Library Casuals

Marita Macklin

Jackie Sellars

Gemma Hawkins

Belinda Owen

Toby Mobbs

Matthew Griffin

Izera Mazambo

Caroline Canduso

Ebony Neal Volunteers

Home Library 30

Friends of the Library 20

Executive Director Report Robert Knight Executive Director - Riverina Regional Library The 2012-2013 year was a mammoth one for Riverina Regional Library (RRL) as the organisation experienced a year of challenge and change – some anticipated and some unexpected.

•

By far the biggest impact on our operation was preparation for the admission of four additional Council areas on 1 July 2013. This massive change-management project resulted from a decision to cease the operation of the Upper Murray Regional Library (UMRL) on 30 June 2013. The borders of UMRL and RRL met at the southern boundary of the RRL region, and the two regional library services had collaborated on a variety of matters over many years. UMRL previously served five Councils in NSW and three in Victoria, however the withdrawal of its two largest Councils - Albury in 2009 and Wodonga in 2013 – left an unsustainable organisation for the remaining member Councils. Requests from four ex-UMRL Councils (Corowa, Tumbarumba, Urana and Greater Hume, which was already partially served by RRL) during February 2013 for admission to RRL on 1 July 2013 was followed by endorsement by the RRL Advisory Committee and adoption by the Executive Council in late March. A flurry of strategic, political, operational and financial activity followed, resulting in the successful transition of the additional Council areas into RRL on 1 July 2013. As a result, RRL gained an additional five branch libraries at Corowa, Howlong, Mulwala, Holbrook and Tumbarumba, as well as a second Mobile Library serving a combined 60 communities in three NSW and two Victorian Council areas.

Of course, there was no reprieve in demand for RRL services anywhere else in the operation!

•

A geographic area of 39,270 sq km (5% of the total area of NSW; 60% of the total area of Tasmania) A total population of 134,360 residents

RRL continued to respond, as it always has, to the ongoing tide of change through its flexible Collections to Clients strategy, which continues to strengthen the service offerings of RRL and develop partnerships between branch libraries and their local communities. We remain committed to leading change rather than following it, so that a proactive and informed approach to growth and development steers our service strategies.

The organisation’s strategic priorities of Community Wide Learning, Connected Communities and Sustainable Organisation provide the foundation for strengthening the commitment to achieving cost effective, relevant and contemporary library service provision.

Thanks to the scrupulous planning and tireless work by staff at RRL headquarters, combined with willing cooperation of the incoming Councils and libraries, a seamless transition was achieved. A process that should have taken in excess of 12 months to plan and execute delivered a result in less than four months. Already the largest regional library service in NSW before its expansion, on 1 July 2013 RRL will have: • • •

12 member Councils 18 static branch libraries Two mobile libraries serving 60 communities

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A highlight of the 2012-2013 year was the launch of the new Northern Mobile Library in each of the four Council areas that it serves. An exciting and innovative “branchon-wheels”, the new rig features a flexible floorplan, a focus on access, and has been designed with the future in mind. The project benefited from funding of $200,000 from the NSW Library Development Grants program, as well as $30,000 provided by the Australian Government 2010-2011 Accessible Communities initiative for the incorporation of enhanced disabled access into the design. A new Mercedes Actros prime mover put the icing on this very large cake, which is now a significantly visible billboard for RRL as it travels around the region.

RRL faces the ongoing challenge of changing collection formats and customer demands. The increasing demand for “eLibrary” service provision requires critical analysis of costs and usage of all collection formats to ensure that our libraries can meet the needs of their broad clientele. Libraries have been utilising a wide variety of electronic databases for many years, however the more recent availability of eResources including books, magazines, newspapers, movies and music, represents a paradigm shift for libraries and their borrowers. It is now possible for a library member to undertake all transactions electronically, assuming that they have access to the necessary technology, without ever physically visiting the library.

The main pressure point in the multi-format collection environment is “how do we most effectively allocate resources across all formats?”. Each resource could conceivably be procured in any or all of hardback, paperback, large print, audio, eAudio and eBook – but this would be as impractical as it is unaffordable. Close and ongoing scrutiny of cost, usage patterns and publishing trends will determine the future format of our collections, which may differ from branch to branch.

There is a long list of implications associated with merging eCollections and physical collections, including: • the need for technological capability at both ends of the process (library and borrower) • more sophisticated search engines that can search efficiently across multiple formats and genres • intelligent websites that become a critical interface between libraries and their customers • managing costs associated with purchasing resources in a number of formats as well as the associated technology • developing a new eLibrary skill set for staff and customers • effectively measuring the use of eLibrary traffic

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With regard to changing customer demand, it is evident that the library is more and more being considered as a multi-purpose community space. The immediate availability of information via the internet, both from within and outside library collections, has changed the demand for in-person information enquiries. At the same time, there is an increasing appetite for assistance with access to electronic resources, skill development in the use of electronic devices, and growing attendance at a broad range of programs for all age groups.

All of these factors clearly indicate that a whole lot of aspects about libraries are changing. Automation and outsourcing has taken the place of time that staff once spent on traditional library – time that is now spent on the “new” library which provides a range of collections, services, programs and community development activities that are too numerous to refer to in this report.

None of the progress and success of RRL would be achieved without the commitment of inspirational staff at RRL Headquarters and each of its 14 branch libraries. Without exception, staff from across the region have demonstrated true professionalism, patience, innovation and quite often sheer brilliance throughout the many and varied changes that have been introduced. It is largely due to the engagement of its staff that RRL is recognised as a regional and state leader in many of its initiatives and innovations. This reputation has been forged against a backdrop of increasing demand and changing expectations about public library service provision at every branch, so as always, the contribution of our people is gratefully acknowledged.

RRL staff maintain their involvement in a broad range of regional, state and national library sector organisations that assist in the development of the public library network.

Staff continue to support Public Libraries NSW (including our local area – the SouthWest Zone); the Libero User Group; the Australasian Mobile Library Network; the FE Technologies RFID User Group; as well as numerous collaborations and partnerships with other sector organisations and community groups across the RRL area.

The state government contribution to the NSW public library sector remains the lowest per capita contribution of all states in Australia. Despite a pre-election promise of the coalition government in March 2011 to undertake a broad review of public library funding, an excellent evidence based submission presented by the Library Council of NSW in September 2012 for consideration in the 2013-2014 budget process did not achieve any increase in funding. The NSW Public Library Associations group is currently considering a plan of action to achieve the required outcome - the restoration of state funding to a more realistic level and indexation of all funding components to ensure future sustainability of state government contributions.

In an environment where a number of the 18 regional libraries in country NSW are experiencing political, financial and operational difficulties RRL, which is the largest regional library in terms of member Councils, continues to work with its member Councils and branch libraries to maintain a strong and viable regional library service.

South West Zone Digital Library

The RRL Advisory Committee saw a significant change in membership after the Thejoining South-West 2012 local government elections, with 14 new Councillor delegates the Zone, which extends from Boorowa in the east to Wentworth in the west and West Wyalong Committee and bringing a high level of interest and enthusiasm to their roles. The in the north Advisory Committee and member Councils continue to demonstrate their supportto Albury in the south, established the Zone Digital Library with grant funding of and confidence in the organisation. The philosophical and financialSouth-West commitment $200,000 from of member Councils to the future of the regional library service, combined with the the NSW Library Development Grants program.

Zone libraries will contribute a further recognition of the community cultural development capacity of libraries in their $420,000 in digital content over the next 4 years, and respective local government areas, provides great leverage for RRL staff to achieve will consider the inclusion of other digital formats – for fantastic outcomes with and for their communities. Particular acknowledgement example music, must be accorded to RRL Advisory Committee Chairperson Cr Yvonne Braid, Deputy movies and magazines.

Chairperson Cr Dallas Tout and members of the RRL Executive Committee.

2013-14 will be a very busy year for RRL as the reality of the expansion of the organisation comes to fruition. Early indications ascertained from the collaboration between all stakeholders to date point to a bigger and stronger organisation that will work in unison to provide great outcomes for its constituents in 12 local government areas.

In concluding, I would like to provide particular acknowledgement to the RRL Headquarters staff. Each and every one of these committed staff members have gone well beyond the expectations of their role to undertake the considerable body of additional work required to plan and activate a successful transition strategy for the expansion of the organisation. Thank you everyone!

Robert Knight Executive Director - Riverina Regional Library

From 1 July 2013 RRL will have: • 12 member Councils • 18 static branch libraries • Two mobile libraries serving 60 communities • A geographic area of 39,270 sq km; 5% of the total area of NSW; 60% of the total area of Tasmania • A total population of 134,360 residents

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New Mobile Library Rolls Into Town The Riverina Regional Library (RRL) launched its new mobile library at the Wagga Wagga Civic Centre in February 2013 in the first of four celebrations held across the RRL region.

The launch was jointly performed by the NSW State Librarian & Chief Executive, Dr Alex Byrne, and Chairperson of RRL, Councillor Yvonne Braid.

Wagga Wagga, Walla Walla, Ardlethan and Lockhart celebrated the arrival of the new and improved branch on wheels with speeches from Mayors and Councillors and morning tea for the community.

This is the fourth mobile library trailer that has served RRL since the regional library commenced in 1978, and is a far cry from the basic but functional design of 35 years ago. The new trailer features a flexible interior floor plan, characterised by one large extendable pod to maximise floor space and cater for changing demands. There is also an emphasis on accessibility with a flat floor design and separate disabled access entrance.

The design of the new mobile library was the subject of a great deal of scrutiny. It was RRL’s objective to provide a flexible, dynamic and accessible space that has the capacity to cater for changing usage patterns over its anticipated 15-year lifespan. The new mobile library has definitely been designed with the future in mind.

The mobile library replacement project benefited from $200,000 funding from the NSW State Government’s Library Development Grant program, as well as $30,000 from the Australian Government Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs (FaHCSIA) Accessible Communities grant program.

The new mobile library trailer was built by Brimarco Pty Ltd in Ballarat, who collaborated on this project with Wagga Wagga business Total Ag Solutions.

Delight in the new mobile library went national when a video of the mobile library and its driver, Rob Chapman, was made by RRL staff with ABC Open’s Sonya Gee. The video was played on television several times, including on ABC1.

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The mobile library: travels to 31 service points on a fortnightly schedule travels 37,500km yearly 632 travel hours per year 1,356 operating hours per year

RRL Northern Mobile Library Launch at Wagga Wagga

RRL Northern Mobile Library Launch at Walla Walla

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Vision

Mission

Strategy

Inspiring people Engaging communities Enriching lives

Creatively connecting people, information and knowledge

Community Wide Learning Connected Communities Sustainable Organisation

RRL Outreach and Promotions RRL Support and eServices

Values Respect for people, ideas and knowledge Commitment to fostering learning communities Integrity, equity and quality of service

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Administration The Riverina Regional Library Administration Officer provided ongoing secretarial and administrative support to the Executive Director and staff of the region throughout 2012-2013. This included some payroll duties, accounts, meeting and conference arrangements, travel and training arrangements and other daily administrative duties.

Many working hours were also dedicated to compiling documents so all areas of Riverina Regional Library, especially the Mobile Library, was compliant with the current Australian and Work Health Safety Strategy 2012-2022.

Due to the inclusion of five extra static library branches and another mobile library from the former Upper Murray Regional Library, there were a number of extra administrative tasks in preparing for the transition to commence on 1 July 2013.

The mobile library was introduced to Facebook and the Administration Officer took on the role of adding administrative items to this Facebook page.

Corporate training attended by the Administration Officer throughout the year included Work Health Safety - Health Safety Representative training, Corporate Traveller, First Aid Refresher and a Business Continuity Planning session.

Since the move to 99 Peter Street, the Administration Officer has continued in her role with only minor changes to work processes and procedures. However, with the expanded Riverina Regional Library membership, a new position of Business and Communications Officer was established. This role will take effect from September 2013 and the role of Administration Officer will become the RRL Business Support Officer in the new financial year.

2012-2013 was a year of “preparing for huge changes� and it is envisaged that the coming year will bring advancements and challenges in many areas of Riverina Regional Library.

Wendy Callis Administration Officer Riverina Regional Library

RRL Outreach and Promotions The Outreach and Promotions Division is responsible for the development and implementation of programs and services to RRL branch libraries.

RRL Support and eServices

The Support and eServices Division provides support functions and undertakes the general management and administration of Riverina Regional Library.

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Outreach and Promotions

Outreach Services, Promotions, Children’s and Youth Services, Delivery Services

The Outreach and Promotions Team

SKETCH Kids

Outreach and Promotions Coordinator Amy Heap

In 2012, cartoonist Andrew Hore visited the Riverina with a popular school holiday program. In order to build on this success, RRL received a grant from Regional Arts NSW Cultural Arts Support Program (CASP) to run an eight week online workshop called SKETCH Kids - Techniques in Cartooning eArtist in Residence. Andrew Hore was commissioned to provide professional guidance through online artist workshops leading into and during school holidays. Using a blog and videos, he was able to connect with budding artists aged 8-13 across our nine local government areas, teaching them cartooning techniques and reviewing their work which was uploaded onto the blog.

(from January 2013)

Children’s and Youth Services Librarian Sharon Smith

(acting Outreach and Promotions Coordinator - July to September 2012)

Outreach and Promotions Development Officer Cynthia Price

(acting Outreach and Promotions Coordinator - September to December 2012)

Outreach and Promotions Officer Anne Reardon Internal Courier Douglas Simpson

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SKETCH Kids became part of the school curriculum and engaged participants well into the school holidays. Participants’ work was reviewed not only by a professional artist but also by their peers who share the same interests. Those who were too shy to exhibit or show their talents in a public place hopefully gained confidence and recognition of their skills in a fairly anonymous environment; the online platform allowed for observers to learn as well, and families were provided access to watch progress.

SKETCH Kids is an example of a region-wide online program that was made available to a far broader range of people than a school holiday visit could have. There were 76 young artist participants and the blog had 3,175 visits. Andrew Hore appreciated the opportunity to promote his business beyond his physical location and participants were able to join in from home as well as from the school or library. The success of this program will encourage RRL to develop more online programs to serve the region. You can see Andrew Hore’s videos and the young artists’ works at rrlcartooning.blogspot.com.au.

Social Networking The Riverina Regional Library Headquarters team engaged with our communities online through social networking, with Facebook, Pinterest and Goodreads accounts.

Facebook: The Outreach and Promotions team supports seven of the branch libraries with Facebook accounts, as well as administrating an account for the Mobile Library.

Members of the communities ‘like’ their library’s Facebook page and are then able to keep up with what is going on at the library. Libraries are able to use the page to engage their communities, promote services, collections and events as well as literacy and a love of reading.

Pinterest: Pinterest is an online pinboard and is used to collect images under certain topics of interest. RRL is using Pinterest to promote the RRL Book Club, the eLibrary, children’s programs and ideas and Reader’s Advisory (helping people find good books to read).

Goodreads: Goodreads is the world’s largest site for readers and book recommendations. It’s about finding and sharing books that you love. RRL have all Book Club books on Goodreads so that members can read blurbs and reviews about the books. RRL also have virtual shelves of books by great storytellers, Australian war stories and different children’s genres. Library members are encouraged to befriend RRL on Goodreads so that a reading community can be formed - sharing book recommendations and reviews.

As part of the South West Zone Digital Library grant, 49 Sony eReaders were distributed to RRL branch libraries. This provided customers with the opportunity to use an eReader and see if the technology suits them, as well as reinforcing that eBooks are no threat to libraries!

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Travelling Headquarters staff organised exhibitions and authors to travel the region visiting the branches. Authors who promoted their books with fascinating talks included Fiona McCallum, Noelene Allen and Rachael Treasure. The Knitted Garden and Fred Hollows exhibitions also brightened the libraries during the year.

eSmart Libraries At the end of 2012, RRL agreed to take part in the eSmart Libraries pilot in 2013 with the aim of building communities that are smart, safe and responsible users of technology. eSmart Libraries was initiated by a partnership between the Telstra Foundation and The Alannah and Madeline Foundation and has been developed with librarians, industry experts and senior stakeholders. It is a behaviour change initiative for cybersafety and wellbeing that is designed to equip libraries, and through them library users, with the skills required for smart, safe and responsible use of technology, providing a framework and resources for best-practice and culture change.

It is becoming increasingly difficult to participate in society without access to computers. In the digital world, information may only be available online and vital services are moving online too. With an online presence becoming unavoidable, it is important for libraries to lead the way in creating cybersafe communities. Libraries already play a vital role in bridging the digital divide with eSmart Libraries providing tools and mechanisms to promote cybersafety and support the wellbeing of library users.

The Outreach and Promotions Coordinator and Outreach and Promotions Development Officer are coordinating the eSmart Libraries project for RRL. Staff have conducted a digital literacy survey of library staff and are reviewing policies to ensure best practice across the region. Over the next few years the library will progress through the framework and become a certified eSmart Library.

eReaders As part of the South West Zone Digital Library grant, 49 Sony eReaders were distributed to RRL branch libraries. The original purpose for the eReaders was to familiarise staff with the technology, how to download eBooks and eAudiobooks from Bolinda (also part of SWZ Digital Library) and for staff to demonstrate the technology to library

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customers. This left them sitting in a cupboard for the majority of the time, so it was then expanded to libraries being able to load content on the eReaders and loan them to library customers. This gives customers the opportunity to use an eReader and see if the technology suits them as well as reinforcing that eBooks are no threat to libraries!

RRL Book Club The Riverina Regional Library Book Club has continued to grow with around 640 people meeting across the region to talk about books. The new tub of eReaders was launched at the Members’ Lounge End of Year Celebration and has been borrowed by several clubs keen to try out the technology. The tub consists of ten Sony eReaders preloaded with two classics for the clubs to choose from. The audio books and DVDs are popular additions to the book club tubs and the clubs continue to be a great way for people to share a love of reading and to make social connections – it’s about more than just the books!

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Support and eServices

IT Services, eServices, Collection Services, Support Services, Mobile Library Operations

The Support and eServices Team

The 2012-2013 year was one of significant change, innovation and major projects for the newly formed Support and eServices Division. Some of the major highlights were:

Support and eServices Coordinator Brian Plummer

•

Support and eServices Officer Helen Graetz

• • • • •

Support and eServices Development Officer Clare Morey Collection Services Officer Lynn Hackett Support Services Officer Kaylene Nisbet Mobile Library Operator - Northern Robert Chapman

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An organisational structure that saw the formation of the Support and eServices Division The redevelopment and launch of a new RRL website The construction and launch of a new Mobile Library Consolidation and expansion of RRL’s eResources collection and services Further exploitation of the increased functionality in Libero 6 for workflow and process improvement Planning and preparation for the admission of former Upper Murray Regional Library Councils and Libraries into RRL

The Division has shown itself to be an excellent mix of complementary knowledge, skills and talents with great teamwork, resourcefulness and willingness to go beyond the normal call of duty.

RRL Website RRL’s website was a major project that was completed during 2012-2013. Unofficially launched at the end of May 2013, the new website presents RRL’s content clearly and functionally for customers. RRL staff spent many hours working with web developers Livestream to ensure the site was both functional and attractive. Staff from both Support and eServices and Outreach and Promotions Divisions assisted with the website structure.

Special thanks should be afforded to Cynthia Price, the Outreach and Promotions Services Development Officer and Amy Heap, the Outreach and Promotions Services Coordinator for their assistance with this project.

eServices The dynamic nature of libraries was reinforced in 2012-2013 with the strengthening of the South West Zone Digital Library and the proliferation of RRL’s eResource component of the collection. To ensure adequate staff resources in the growth area of eLibrary services, RRL’s Regional Services Officer was redeployed in January 2013 from the Administration and Governance section of the organisation to Support and eServices Division as the Support and eServices Development Officer (ESDO).

RRL’s ESDO continued to facilitate reporting in addition to previous tasks, as well as activating some of the roles within the eServices area.

During 2012-2013, RRL’s eLibrary continued to grow with both Bolinda (South West Zone Digital Library) and Wheelers performing well. The following is a snap shot of the eLibrary in the year 2012-2013.

Wheelers eBooks commenced in May 2012 as the only eBook offering from RRL until July 2013 when Bolinda Digital launched eBooks as part of the South West Zone Digital Library (SWZDL).

• • • •

databases (Ancestry.com, Britannica, Syndetics), ongoing commitment to Libero Uno Discovery Tool and an investment in training for staff across the region. In addition, RRL will continue to allocate funds to the SWZDL and to RRL’s quarantined collection (Wheelers). RRL looks forward to the burgeoning eLibrary, in particular to the National Geographic Virtual Library and the extension of eBooks and eAudio.

Mobile Library Services In February 2012, after extensive planning, RRL took delivery of a new, state-of-theart, mobile library. The new Mobile Library, constructed by Brimarco Pty Ltd, is an innovative, flexible and accessible facility designed to adapt to the changing future of library service delivery. Its features include a single level floor, one large extendable pod and a spacious interior. The new trailer was officially launched on 24 February 2012 by State Librarian and Chief Executive, Dr Alex Byrne, with subsequent launches being held in each of the local government areas served. The unit currently serves 31 service points across the local government areas of Coolamon, Greater Hume, Lockhart, Temora and Wagga Wagga.

Wheelers eBook titles: 906 Wheelers eBook loans: 2815 Wheelers eBook users: 857 Wheelers eBook turnover rate: 3.1

The SWZDL was formed in 2012 and was funded by a State Library of NSW Development Grant of $200,000. Bolinda Digital was the first supplier to be contracted to the Zone in relation to the grant funded digital library. From its inception in May 2012, the SWZDL has developed to include both eAudio and recently, eBook (July 2013).

• • • •

Bolinda Digital eAudio titles: 1950 Bolinda Digital eAudio loans: 360 Bolinda Digital eBook titles: 1489 Bolinda Digital eBook loans: 234

During 2012-2013, the ESDO also assisted with the facilitation of the existing RRL eResources Committee meetings. Held biannually, the committee meets to discuss expenditure in the areas of online databases and other online information that is purchased by RRL. The committee met in June 2013 recommending the introduction of the National Geographic Virtual Library, the continuation of the existing suite of 23

Collection Services The Collection Services team had another hectic and very productive year. The quality control of the collection, liaison with external procurement agencies and ensuring that supplier key performance indicators are met is a very challenging portfolio but has been handled in exemplary fashion. In summary, acquisitions for the 2012-2013 year were: • • •

New items: 18,475 Donations: 2,036 Number of grant items: 2,244

During 2012-2013 RRL used the following suppliers: • • • • • • •

AES – non fiction Bolinda – CD stories Keith Ainsworth – adult, youth and junior fiction, picture books MDM Entertainment – DVDs and music CDs Southern Scene – large print and CD stories Wheelers – eBooks Bolinda – eAudiobooks and eBooks through the South-West Zone Digital Library Grant

Representatives from three of the major suppliers (AES, Keith Ainsworth and MDM Entertainment) visited RRL in late June and met with library staff from existing branches and also the incoming former UMRL branch libraries to assist in developing selection profiles for each location.

Extensive collection weeding was carried out by RRL headquarters staff at Junee Library in October and November and also at Coolamon and Henty Libraries in November.

RRL Headquarters staff also selected, catalogued and processed items to stock the new Mobile Library prior to its launch in February 2013.

In addition to purchases, RRL branches received many quality and worthwhile donations that were accepted and processed during the year.

24

Wagga Wagga City Library was fortunate to receive over 55 cemetery records of surrounding towns for its Local Studies collection. Towns covered included Coolamon, Lockhart, Tarcutta, Marrar, Bygoo Station Cemetery, Kyeamba Station Cemetery and the Best Family Cemetery at Ashmont.

In preparation for the admission rrl.nsw.gov.au/book-club.html of four former UMRL Councils to RRL on 1 July 2013, headquarters staff visited the Corowa, Mulwala, Holbrook, Tumbarumba and Howlong Libraries and the “southern” Mobile Library to conduct “collection assessments” and discuss issues including collection processes, magazine subscriptions and standing order fiction lists for the new financial year.

IT Support and Services IT Division staff, through RRL’s role as the principal Australian Beta testing site for the Libero Library Management System, continued to have major input into the ongoing development of the Libero product. Numerous workflow improvements proposed by RRL were incorporated into the Libero software during the year. RRL has capitalised on these developments and other improved functionality in many areas.

The introduction of email courtesy reminders (at no cost) has been well received by library members. Catalogue records supplied by eResource vendors are now being bulk edited and imported into the RRL catalogue to provide enhanced access to these records and an integrated approach to managing these new resources.

A major role of the division is the creation and provision of a comprehensive range of reports and performance indicators. The reports are used extensively to inform stakeholders of RRL’s performance across all service areas and against established benchmarks. They are also used for diagnostic purposes, including identifying data discrepancies and areas for process improvement and training.

The Support and eServices Officer and Coordinator continued to play an active role in both the Libero and FE Technologies Smart Library (RFID) User Groups and continue to work in close partnership with the Outreach Services Division, branch libraries and external procurement agencies to ensure continuing process improvement and efficiencies.

This work included: • The conversion, importing and integration of UMRL catalogue and member data into the RRL database. This was a massive task in itself and special acknowledgement should be made to the Support and eServices Officer, Helen Graetz, for managing this process and also thanks to Sam Patane and the staff at Insight Informatics for their assistance • The assessment of Library Management System hardware at all new service points and its integration into the RRL IT replacement schedule • The development of requirements and a schedule for the implementation of RFID at incoming branch libraries (including stock weeding, retro-tagging of stock and installation of hardware) • Integration of new Councils/Libraries into the RRL procurement model • Inclusion of new Councils/Libraries into the RRL website • Libero and RFID training for incoming staff • Acquisition and integration of a second (Southern) Mobile Library.

The Support and eServices team enjoyed a very productive 2012-2013 and look forward to playing a major role in RRL’s ongoing progress and development in the forthcoming year.

A considerable amount of time has also been devoted to developing and delivering Libero and related training to staff across the region. There has been a shift toward delivering tailored training sessions to specific branches and individuals which has worked well.

RRL Expansion The impending admission of four former Upper Murray Regional Library (UMRL) Councils to RRL on the 1 July 2013 had major implications for RRL and particularly the Support and eServices Division. A large amount of planning and preparatory work was undertaken to ensure that the 1 July 2013 transition would be as smooth as possible.

25

2012 - Year of Technology In many ways, every year seems like the Year of Technology as we all adjust to new devices and new versions of older ones. There is no hiding from technology as gadgets abound and more and more of our lives move online. Many people are in danger of being left behind as they struggle, for many reasons, to keep up.

Titles available for free download cover fiction, biographies, lifestyle writing and stories for young adults and children. The whole family is sure to find the perfect download anytime, anywhere from the RRL website.

Public libraries have the important job of fostering communities that learn and grow, and keeping people connected is a significant part of that. Public access computers, WiFi, scanners, quality information online, eBooks, eReaders, social media and help with using them, are all ways that RRL libraries are helping their communities make the most of technology.

Many RRL branches ran eReader sessions to help their users choose the best eReading device for them, and to show them how to find, download and enjoy eBook and eAudio books on their own devices, or ones they borrow from the library.

RRL was excited to offer to its members access to digital books as part of the SouthWest Zone Digital Library (SWZDL). The SWZDL was launched in May 2012 at the Wagga Wagga City Library. Libraries across the South-West Zone, which extends from Boorowa in the east to Wentworth in the west and West Wyalong in the north to Albury in the south, received a grant of $200,000 in the 2009-10 round of NSW Library Development Grants for the establishment of a digital library. This new service is available to the 300,000 residents served by the 47 libraries across the Zone. Members of RRL can browse, borrow and download a digital eAudio or eBook through the SWZDL without leaving their living room.

We are living in an increasingly digital world, and libraries are taking a leading role in making digital content available to their members. RRL has responded to the ‘digital challenge’ by providing its members with the ability to enjoy a variety of content downloaded to their portable devices. The eAudiobooks are device neutral, so no matter whether you have an iPod or any other MP3 player, you can download a title.

The SWZDL chose the Bolinda Digital platform to provide the digital library. Bolinda is Australia’s number one publisher of audiobooks and has created a high quality collection of titles featuring the very best of Australian and international authors.

26

Many RRL branches ran eReader sessions to help their users choose the best eReading device for them and to show them how to find, download and enjoy eBook and eAudio books on their own devices, or ones that they borrow from the library.

RRL was excited to offer its members access to digital books as part of the South-West Zone Digital Library (SWZDL) launched in May 2012 at the Wagga Wagga City Library.

Libraries across the South-West Zone received a grant of $200,000 in the 2009-10 round of NSW Library Development Grants for the establishment of a digital library. This new service is available to the 300,000 residents served by the 47 libraries across the Zone.

Members of RRL can browse, borrow and download a digital book in either eAudio or eBook format without leaving their living room.

27

Adelong

Location

Opening

adelong@tumut.nsw.gov.au

A member of the Tumut Shire Network of Libraries

Adelong Library Tumut Street ADELONG NSW 2729 02 69462270

Tuesday Wednesday Friday

28

1:00pm – 5:00pm 8:30am – 11:30am 2:00pm – 5:00pm

Staff members Susan Barnes Roslyn Molineaux

Kym Moore

Library Assistant Library Assistant (retired February 2013) Casual Library Assistant

Programs and Events Storytime sessions commenced at Adelong and Batlow Libraries with Librarian, Kristin Twomey, travelling to the libraries to present the sessions on the second Wednesday of each month. The response from the community has been extremely positive.

Adelong Library hosted a Design a Library Bag session for members of the Elderly Day Care service where a number of members took advantage of the opportunity to design their own bag.

Library Services The library provides home library selection and deliveries to residents of Adelong that, due to ill health or disability, are not able to come into the library to select and loan items. This is a valuable library service for the community providing not only library items but also a social visit to those in need within the town. The library also acts as a centre for Tumut Shire Council enabling residents to pay council related fees and rates.

Internet, faxing and photocopying facilities are also available.

Collection and Resource Highlights The library collection underwent an extensive review this year with a number of sections weeded and large transfers undertaken to replenish stock.

Adelong Library Assistant, Roslyn Molineaux, tendered her resignation after 23 years of service at the library. Roslyn will now be enjoying a relaxing retirement with her husband Geoff who has also recently retired.

Roslyn Molineaux / Susan Barnes Library Assistant Adelong Library

29

Ariah Park

Location

Opening

ariahparkpost@bigpond.com

A member of the Temora Shire Network of Libraries

Ariah Park Library 44-46 Coolamon Street Ariah Park NSW 2665 02 69741099

Monday to Friday Saturday to Sunday

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9:00am – 5:00pm 9:00am – 12:00pm

Staff members Eileen England Angela Rees

Librarian-in-Charge Library Assistant

The Ariah Park Library continues to provide free internet access. The Temora Librarian visits the library on a monthly basis with transferred and new material. Technical and professional support is also provided by the Temora Librarian.

31

Batlow

Location

Opening

batlow@tumut.nsw.gov.au

A member of the Tumut Shire Network of Libraries

Batlow Library Batlow Literary Institute Pioneer Street Batlow NSW 2730 02 69491315

Monday to Friday 9:30am – 5:00pm (closed 1:00pm – 2:00pm)

32

Staff members Robert Beegling Marion Jones Shirlee Straatsma

Library Assistant Casual Relief Staff Casual Relief Staff

Programs and Events Batlow Library facilitated a number of programs and events this year including a regular Storytime session every second Wednesday of the month. The library staff have established a good link with the local primary schools and childcare centres for participating in these sessions. There were regular holiday programs including Crocodile Encounters, Design-a-Bag and Wire Sculpting. These programs were very well attended and the participants were very enthusiastic.

The library was fortunate to receive a visit from Dr Alex Byrne, State Librarian, who came along to see what services a remote library provides and how the library operates. Dr Byrne was very interested in how the library accessed and made use of State Library of NSW resources and expertise.

The library and Literary Institute of Batlow hosted a very successful Crime Writers Weekend. Six published crime writers presented sessions and workshops of great interest about writing processes and relationships with publishers. The workshop sessions included time for discussion with the authors, as well as the opportunity to purchase books and have them signed by the authors.

A Hear the Word audio device is available for members of the public needing these resources and it is anticipated the library will shortly receive eReaders for public borrowing and a WiFi hot spot will be installed for public internet connection to personal computers.

The number of visitors to the library has continued to grow over the past year and the library continues to be heavily used by seasonal workers for internet use including second visa applications and eTax purposes as well as for social media use and transport bookings. These visitors have also made use of newspapers and borrowings from the ‘donations’ section of the library for their personal reading.

The library receives a number of visitor enquiries for tourist information and the community continues to utilise the library as a focal point for socialising on such occasions as the Wrap With Love sessions held at the library.

Robert Beegling Library Assistant Batlow Library

Partnerships The library has established a number of community partnerships. These links allow the library to present programs for the community and become involved with community activities such as the Art and Photo exhibits and competitions. The local Post Office and business houses refer seasonal workers to the library for information about seasonal work and farm locations.

Library Services The library acts as a rural access point for Centrelink and Medicare. This service consists of phone and online access, copying, scanning and faxing facilities. General photocopying, scanning and printing services are also available at the library. General library services include reference, bibliographic enquiries, Inter Library Loans and reservations. In addition the Library handles local history and genealogy enquiries, online searches, synopsis of new titles added to the collection, assistance with computer use and assistance with item location.

Collection and Resource Highlights The library holds a small specialist local history collection. The library staff are developing and expanding the DVD collection of new titles as the library is the main point of access to these items.

33

Coolamon

Location

Opening

Staff members

Tuesday to Friday Saturday

Helen McLoughlin Alex Thompson Sharon Miles Margaret Payton Carmel Walsh

coolamon_library@westnet.com.au

Coolamon Library 129 Cowabbie Street Coolamon NSW 2701 02 69272492

34

10:00am – 5:00pm 9:00am – 12:00pm

Officer-in-Charge Casual Relief Staff Casual Relief Staff Casual Relief Staff Casual Relief Staff

Programs and Events The Coolamon Library hosted a Love your Library Open Day to celebrate the National Year of Reading. With over 100 people attending, community members came along to visit, explore and discover the library. Some of the activities included meeting local author, Mr Gordon Collis, Celebrity Storytime, Make a Book Mark, Grab a Tattoo and Discover eReaders. Prizes, competitions and free giveaways made the day very successful.

Library Services The library provides services to the local Allawah Lodge Nursing Home including delivery of talking books received from the State Library of NSW which are well received at the nursing home. The library has three public computers as well as faxing, photocopying, printing and laminating services for general public use. The library recently installed wireless internet access and has set up a Facebook account which is regularly updated with events and programs.

The library was lucky to host two visiting authors over the past twelve months. Firstly, a visit from Ms Courtney Collins for her debut book called The Burial, an inspirational story of bushranger, Jessie Hickman. Secondly, Mrs Noelene Allen for her book called Ellen - A Woman of Spirit - a moving story of the life of the mother of one of the most famous bushrangers Ned Kelly. Both events were well attended by the community with book sales proving to be very popular.

Collection and Resource Highlights The introduction of eReaders and eAudiobooks to the collection has been welcomed by the community. The availability and variety offered by Bolinda and Wheelers were appreciated and the service of free downloads is a great asset. The purchase of new display easels and mounted display panels have also proven to be beneficial. Some weeding in the fiction collection was completed during November and the local history collection has benefited with a number of donations given to the library.

Book Week was celebrated by hosting a tour of the library, reading and craft sessions.

Five local schools in the shire attended over the week. The colouring-in competition was a great success with lots of schools participating.

The library hosted some touring exhibitions throughout the year. The most recent was the Fred Hollows Exhibition celebrating the life of Professor Fred Hollows and the work of his foundation. The library welcomed students from Coolamon Central School to view the exhibition.

The Book Borrowing Extravaganza promotion held this year was a very worthwhile program. Children visited from the Coolamon Central School, St Michael’s Primary School, Coolamon Pre-School and Coolamon Daycare. Children were encouraged to borrow books during the term which then entitled their school to receive a star to go onto their school chart. This was followed by a significant increase in membership and loan statistics.

The year has been very rewarding and the library is continuing to develop its services and programs. The world of digital eLibrary was introduced early in the year and with the support of the Riverina Regional Library Headquarters team, customers were guided through the process. The library is becoming a very social meeting place for the community to enjoy and programs and events throughout the year were well supported by the community.

Helen McLoughlin Officer-in-Charge Coolamon Library

Partnerships The library has built a strong partnership with all local schools and pre-schools throughout the year. There has been plenty of support and participation in a number of children’s activities. One of our newest partnerships is with Northern Eastern Rural Counselling Service (NERCS) who assist in the facilitation of Heart and Soul meetings held each month in the library. A partnership has also been developed with ABC Radio who conduct interviews with library staff several times over the year regarding such events as Love Your Library Open Day and Storytime on the Road.

35

Cootamundra

Location

Opening

Staff members

Monday to Friday Saturday

Allison Aspden

Penny Howse

Lynne Thorburn Leanne Jones Rochelle Nicholls Lyn Angus

library@cootamundra.nsw.gov.au

Cootamundra Library Wallendoon Street Cootamundra NSW 2590 02 69402200

36

9:30am – 5:30pm 9:30am – 12:00pm

Library Manager (until January 2013) Library Manager (from January 2013) Assistant Library Manager Library Assistant Library Assistant Casual Relief Staff

Programs and Events Baby Bounce has made a long overdue return to the Cootamundra Library. Each Thursday, mothers and babies enjoy singing, dancing, stories and morning tea.

Storytime is strongly supported by the community with most sessions attracting up to 20 children. The holiday programs have also been extremely popular this year due to programs being promoted through school newsletters and the local newspaper.

During the April school holidays, 35 children enjoyed ‘A Medieval Frenzy’. Knights and damsels in distress all toasted ‘to good health’ with goblets of jelly. The July school holidays were busy with ‘The Scientwists’ and a performance of Henry Lawson’s The Loaded Dog by the Splash Theatre Company. Both programs were booked out.

During Book Week the local fireman and policemen were great hits with their animated story telling. The children enjoyed being able to climb on board the fire engine and blare the police car siren.

An audience of 30 adults enjoyed a glass of wine as they listened to author, Noelene Allen, give a compassionate presentation about the life of Ellen Kelly, the mother of Australia’s most famous bushranger Ned Kelly. In March, author, health professional and motivational speaker Sandy Bröcking was welcomed, showcasing her practical guide to good health. Successful author, Freda Nicholls, enthralled audiences in May with the memoir, Love, Sweat and Tears.

Partnerships The library has a strong partnership with the local newspaper with weekly contributions to the ‘Shire At Work’ column. The Cootamundra Herald regularly fields stories and takes photos for ‘What’s On’ in the library. The Cootamundra Development Corporation also promotes the library every Monday morning on the radio via 2LF. Elouera Special School students enjoy visiting the library each Thursday where the students listen to several books from the Premier’s Reading Challenge, and borrowing is a highlight of their visit. The junior class visits every Friday morning for stories and they are settling in well to their new library routine.

The library continues to develop a healthy relationship with the local schools. All the primary classes from Sacred Heart School and EA Southee School have enjoyed library tours. The children are always amazed when they find out that it is ‘free’ to join the library and that we offer a lot more than just books. During Book Week the Cootamundra Library joined in with the local schools to march in the Book Week parade.

Library Services The library provides thirteen computer terminals with internet access and a seniors’ kiosk with two computers. There are five volunteer tutors who regularly instruct seniors in various aspects of computer technology. Tutoring lessons are in high demand and sessions take place most week days. The library also provides a home delivery service to housebound borrowers and members of the Retirement Village. The library also provides a faxing, photocopying and laminating service and the Library Manager is a recently appointed Justice of the Peace. This service has been welcomed by the local community and used on a regular basis.

Collection and Resource Highlights New additions to the library collection are placed in the local newspaper each month and added to the library page on the Cootamundra Shire Council website. The library has an extensive local history section and the new ScanPro microfilm reader has been useful for historians wanting to look at past issues of the Cootamundra Herald.

Appropriate resources are continually added to the local history collection which forms a vital part of the library for the active Local History Society who regularly visit the section and update the displays in the local history cabinet.

A large number of audio books and large print books are sourced from the State Library of NSW. These items are enjoyed by house bound members.

Library staff have managed to load eReaders with eBooks which have been popular and a great way to introduce people to this new form of digital reading. The library spent approximately $2,500 of grant funding on DVDs and audio books. There was a need to improve the range and overall quality of audio books and some new non fiction titles were added. Your Garden, Dolly Magazine and Marie Claire were recently added magazine subscriptions.

Penny Howse was appointed Library Manager in January 2013 on the retirement of Allison Aspden and the staff at the library have been extremely welcoming and helpful as Penny settles into her new role.

The library staff are very grateful to the seniors’ kiosk volunteers who come to the library each Thursday to lend a helping hand and continue to look for new and exciting ways to enhance and improve the services offered.

Penny Howse Library Manager Cootamundra Library 37

Culcairn

Location

Opening

culcairn.library@greaterhume.nsw.gov.au

A member of the Greater Hume Shire Network of Libraries

Culcairn Library 40 Balfour Street Culcairn NSW 2660 02 60298588

Monday to Friday Saturday

38

8:30am – 5:00pm 10:00am – 12:30pm

Staff members Susan Kane Eileen Parascos Jenny Whitlock Jenny Rogan Susan Shanahan Jill Thiele Tarran Essen

General Services Librarian Library Assistant Library Assistant Library Assistant Library Assistant Casual Relief Staff Casual Relief Staff

Programs and Events Culcairn Library provides a significant number of programs and services for the community throughout the year. One of the highlights for the year is Storytime which is held the first Friday of each month and is attended regularly by students from St Joseph’s Primary School who enjoy listening to stories and craft activities.

Book Week 2012 was celebrated at the library with all students from St Joseph’s Primary and Culcairn Public schools visiting the library throughout the week. A dotto-dot colouring competition was held with the winner receiving a Greater Hume Shire family season swimming pool pass valued at $160.00.

A number of programs for children were held throughout the year with the highlight being the Crocodile Encounters program. The program was very informative and interesting, providing a fun morning for the 36 school children who attended. The children were given the opportunity to touch some of Australia’s varied and unique reptiles and amphibians.

An after-school Study Club commenced at the Culcairn Library in July 2012 which provided students with the opportunity to complete their homework in a quiet and safe environment with access to resources in the library in addition to online resources.

Author visits have been well received by members of the community at the library and have included Tish Lees, Alan Bowaters, and the lovely Rachael Treasure. Racheal Treasure’s visit was one of the highlights of the year for the library. Fifty five people attended the visit and the local newsagency sold thirty copies of her book on the day!

Having such as fabulous author at the library was a wonderful experience for all.

Partnerships Developing partnerships and relationships with organisations in Culcairn has played a vital role in the promotion of the library’s available collection, programs and services.

The partnership developed between Billabong High School and the library has enabled members of the public to learn how to use computers, become familiar with the internet and form some wonderful friendships.

The growing partnership with Kiltearn House has also been a positive way for the library to reach out to organisations that are not able to visit the library due to lack of staff, mobility of residents and transport issues. Staff from the library visit Kiltearn House once every month.

Library Services The library provides six public access computers and as from February 2013, a free WiFi Hotspot. The library also provides photocopy access and is able to laminate and fax documents for customers. Additionally, the library co-exists with the shire offices providing government services such as Centrelink facilities. This makes the library part of an important infrastructure of the Greater Hume Shire and a one-stop shop for members of the community.

Outreach services are provided with library staff making regular visits to Kiltearn House and local schools. Large print items and sound recordings are regularly borrowed from the State Library of NSW supplementing the existing collection. Reservations and Inter Library Loans are also provided for customers unable to locate a particular collection item within the library.

Staff continue to increase their knowledge on a range of devices including Sony eReaders and iPads to assist customers in downloading items from the digital library collection. Library staff are also in the initial stages of becoming accredited eSmart libraries which will assist customers in cybersafety and cyberbullying awareness.

Collection and Resource Highlights The library continues to purchase collection items which reflect the needs and desires of the customers. Collection items with the highest rates of borrowing are adult fiction, DVDs and picture books. The Premier’s Reading Challenge books are labelled and placed in an area easily accessible by visiting schools, students and families. A particularly special highlight of resources was the installation of a Self-Loan Station at the library. Customer uptake of the machine has been extremely positive. During school visits, students have been very keen to learn how to use this new technology in the library.

The library provides a range of collections, programs and services for Culcairn and the surrounding district. The library acts as a community meeting place providing a diverse range of library, council and community services. Library staff continue to embrace new technology in a positive manner with the movement of the Riverina Regional Library towards Bolinda eBooks and eAudios and Wheelers eBooks. The introduction of a WiFi Hotspot at the library has been beneficial for members and travelling non-members.

Susan Kane General Services Librarian Culcairn Library 39

Gundagai

Location

Opening

Staff members

Monday, Wednesday, Thursday & Friday 9:00am – 5:00pm (closed 12:30pm - 1:30pm)

Cindy Smith Leanne Sheahan

library@gundagai.nsw.gov.au

Gundagai Library 245 Sheridan Street Gundagai NSW 2722 02 69440270

40

Officer-in-Charge Casual Relief Staff

Programs and Events Gundagai Library holds a Storytime session every second Thursday alternating with Music Fun sessions. The sessions are presented by Cindy Smith and attended by 8-16 children per week. Highlights for the year included Local Government Week, Mayoral Storytime and Mirrabooka Christmas Storytime.

Other Children’s Programs held throughout the year include: • • • • •

Fun In The Park in partnership with other Children Services in Gundagai Book Week - Champions Read Competition Book Trekkers Book Extravaganza Travelling Reading Tent

Some of the youth holiday activities held at the library this year include Study Space, Gundagai Youth Council meeting and SKETCH Kids online cartooning eArtist in residence, Andrew Hore.

The library has an active partnership with the Gundagai Community Technology Centre to develop and deliver training and support to the public adapting to changes in technology. The Gundagai Neighbourhood Centre has also partnered with the library in delivering services for aged customers.

The library is involved with both the After-School Care and Vacation Care groups providing them with space in the library for doing homework, brain games or just reading and relaxing.

The library provides the Gundagai Youth Council with use of the library as a meeting place and encourages other young people to come along.

The primary schools and high school in Gundagai take part in many different programs throughout the year with the Book Extravaganza being a particularly successful program for participation.

Other Programs held throughout the year include: • • • • • • •

Book Club – 7 Book Clubs with 70 members Knit In Library Information Sessions Family History Helper Days Seniors Computer Training Food For Fines Meditation in the Library

The library hosted author visits from Fiona McCallum in October 2012 for her book Wattle Creek and Sandra Bröcking in March 2013 for her book Think Smart and Lose Weight.

Partnerships The library is co-located at ‘Mirrabooka’ with other organisations that deliver many and varied services to the community. Recognising opportunities for partnering with these groups to develop and deliver new services and training, apply more effective marketing and strengthen our position as a community hub is essential for the library to thrive.

41

Library Services Self Loan Stations were installed in February 2013 and after some initial hesitation, customer confidence in this new technology is now blossoming. It has been a positive step forward in our endeavour to provide a modern and efficient service to all our customers.

Contributions to the Mirrabooka newsletter continue to keep the community up to date with services and programs running as well as exhibitions and new items available.

This year the library welcomed two more Book Clubs which takes the amount of Book Clubs in Gundagai to seven. This equates to one out of every 30 people in Gundagai being a member of a Book Club!

Earlier this year, with the help of the State Library of NSW, free WiFi was installed and made accessible to the public. This has proved a winner with not only our younger customers but with other visitors to the library, including tourists and travelling professionals.

Resource and Collections Highlights The online eBook collection has been gradually gaining momentum. The challenges for most people are the different devices and customers needing help in getting the eBook loaded onto their device.

Due to the uptake of internet research and resources, the non fiction collection has been condensed further. The reference section also had an overhaul with almost all reference material now integrated into non fiction.

Large print continues to have a high turnover and is an area where the library continues to require more funds. As eBooks become easier for sight impaired people to enjoy, it is anticipated that some pressure will be lifted from this collection.

The picture book collection for the library remains a hard working favourite and the material coming from the supplier has been of a high standard.

One of our biggest changes to the library collection this year has been the shift to a book shop model with five times more face-out shelving. This gives the public a much more pleasurable browsing experience and encourages loans that would not have been made had customers not seen the book. The library staff have been able to take the existing shelving and manipulate it in such a way that the result looks great!

42

The library remains an integral part of the community and is being well used and enjoyed by old and young including traditional and newer users. This year the library continued to develop in ways that will capture the imagination and confidence of its members and in turn, build a library and information savvy community.

Cindy Smith Officer-in-Charge Gundagai Library

Storytime at Gundagai Library 43

Henty

44

Location

Opening

henty.library@greaterhume.nsw.gov.au

A member of the Greater Hume Shire Network of Libraries

Henty Library 30 Sladen Street Henty NSW 2658 02 69293770

Monday 1:00pm – 5:30pm Tuesday 10:00am – 2:30pm Wednesday 10:00am – 5:30pm (closed 1:00pm – 2:00pm for lunch) Friday 10:00am – 5:30pm Saturday 10:00am – 12:30pm

Staff members Susan Kane Jill Thiele Wendy Knust Tarran Essen Jenny Whitlock

General Services Librarian Library Assistant Casual Relief Staff Casual Relief Staff Casual Relief Staff

Programs and Events The Henty Library provided an extensive range of programs throughout the year. The Henty Early Childhood Pre-School attended Storytime regularly which proved very popular with the children. National Simultaneous Storytime was celebrated at the library with The Wrong Book by Nick Bland. Henty Public School students attended and enjoyed craft activities.

Library and Information Week was celebrated at the library with a visit by Henty Pre-School and Myoora Hostel residents. The special guest was Carol Hadfield who brought along some baby chickens, much to the delight of the children.

Programs for children throughout the year ranged from Lego at the Library, papercraft, visiting authors and the establishment of two new programs. Visiting author, Alan Bowater, provided an informative and entertaining session to both Henty Public School and St Paul’s Primary School. Annual author visits funded by the Greater Hume Shire Council provided a cultural experience for students living remotely.

The Book Borrowing Extravaganza and After School Homework Club were two new programs specifically targeted for primary school age students. The Book Borrowing Extravaganza was a partnership between the library, the two primary schools and the pre-school to increase literacy amongst children. The program was very successful with borrowing and new member statistics increasing significantly.

The second established program, the After School Homework Club, commenced at the library in July 2012 and continues each Wednesday during school term. The club is funded by the Greater Hume Shire Council and targets primary school children who would like to meet at the library to complete their homework. Year 11 and 12 students from Billabong High School are employed by the Greater Hume Shire Council to provide the tutoring.

Producer Sonya Gee held a 500 Word Writing Workshop at the library with great success during the year. The library’s partnership with Myoora Hostel has also grown with regular home borrowing deliveries to the Hostel and the celebration of Seniors Week in March 2013.

Library Services The library provides home library services to members who live in their own home and due to mobility issues are not able to physically visit the library. Library staff also visit the Myoora Hostel every six weeks. This is a valued service which is well received by the community.

Six public access computers are provided for the public to access general search information, Ancestry.com - Library Edition and social media sites. The library now provides a free WiFi Hotspot for the community to access.

Faxing, photocopying, laminating and scanning are also available for members or non members of the library for a fee. Reservations and Inter Library Loans are offered to members of the library extending on the library’s existing collection. Large print items and sound recordings are also borrowed from the State Library of NSW on a regular basis.

The library staff continue to offer advice to customers on collection items, fiction and non fiction, eLibrary and technologies required to access the digital library including eReaders and tablets. The library has also commenced loaning out Sony eReaders for customers of the library to trial before buying their own device.

Partnerships Throughout the year the library has continued to focus on strengthening partnerships with local organisations such as the local pre-school, primary and high schools through the implementation of a number of programs. Programs have included the Billabong High School work experience program, Book Borrowing Extravaganza program, author visits, school visits, and the After School Homework Club. All of the partnerships and relationships with the schools have increased membership and items loaned.

Further partnerships include the ABC Open Organisation which is now in the second year of presenting programs for the community at the library. This year ABC Open 45

Collection and Resource Highlights Maintaining the library collection has been a focus this year with a team from Riverina Regional Library Headquarters undertaking weeding of collection items in November and further weeding by staff in June in preparation for the start of the new financial year.

Adult fiction was transferred regularly between Culcairn and Henty Libraries to maintain a collection that was continually changing. Emphasis was on purchasing high loan items such as adult fiction, picture books and DVDs. Further collection items such as large print books and sound recordings were borrowed regularly from the State Library of NSW to supplement the existing collection.

Through categorising and continual promotion of the Premier’s Reading Challenge books, schools and individuals were able to easily locate specific titles. This practice enabled collection items to be borrowed regularly from the Henty Library by local schools, families and individual students. Junior fiction titles were also displayed on a rotating basis with serials placed together to assist children in choosing a title and borrowing.

Council and Henty community websites, town newsletters and, more recently, the new library Facebook page. The Facebook page is a proactive step which will assist the library in reaching a wider audience of people in the online environment in promoting library programs and services.

The library was successful in receiving a Country Library Development Grant of $200,000 which in 2013 will see the library transformed into a community and cultural space and technological hub for all. The transformation will include two meeting rooms, a cultural board and a revamped children’s area.

Thank you to all of the staff at Riverina Regional Library Headquarters for their continued support in ensuring the library continues to be able to offer a wide range of collection items, programs and services for the community.

Susan Kane General Services Librarian Henty Library

The library services the community by acting as a meeting place, technological hub and a provider of a wide range of collection items for all members of the community regardless of socio-economic background. Staff at the library have continued to focus on the importance of building partnerships with other key organisations for the promotion and sustainability of the library. Programs and services have been tailored throughout the year to suit the needs of members with a particularly strong focus on children and the elderly.

The establishment of programs such as Computers for Seniors has been beneficial in bridging the digital divide, connecting participants with family members in the online environment through the creation of email accounts, Facebook and other social media sites. Lessons were tailored for the skill level of the participant.

Due to continually evolving information communication technology and increasing need for people to use the Internet, it has now become a driving force for staff to be up-to-date and knowledgeable about new technologies and the Internet. To this end, library staff have begun the eSmart journey to assist members of the community in cybersafety and cyberbullying awareness.

Promoting the library has also been paramount in reaching targeted audiences through the year. Promotion has been undertaken through the Greater Hume Shire 46

The Henty Library was successful in receiving a Country Library Development Grant of $200,000 which in 2013 will see the library transformed into a community and cultural space and technological hub for all. The transformation will include two meeting rooms, a cultural board and a revamped children’s area.

Paper craft at the Henty Library 47

Junee

Location

Opening

Staff members

Monday & Tuesday Wednesday Thursday & Friday Saturday

Kim Richards Linda Dyer Margaret Kanaley Matthew Glass Sandra Harris Melinda McInerney Kellie Holmes

library@junee.nsw.gov.au

Junee Library 92 Lorne Street Junee NSW 2663 02 69242111

48

9:30am – 5:30pm 9:30am – 6:00pm 9:30am – 5:30pm 9:00am – 12:00pm

Librarian-in-Charge Library Assistant Library Assistant Casual Library Assistant Casual Library Assistant Casual Relief Staff Casual Relief Staff

Library Services The Junee Library provides a number of services to the community including Home Bound Service, meeting room facility with a capacity to accommodate up to 12 people, photocopying, faxing, scanning and printing, a daily selection of newspapers, community space with lounge chairs and coffee table for people to sit and read or connect with others, six public access computers providing word processing and Internet with access to eGovernment resources such as eTax, Roads and Maritime Services and Centrelink.

Materials for loan include books, DVDs, music CDs, talking books, online eBook resources, videos, magazines, large print books, language kits, HSC material, newspapers on microfilm, microfiche facilities and eReaders.

The library currently has a collection of 14,327 items and from 1 July 2012 to 30 June 2013 loaned out 25,123 items.

Partnerships In July 2012, over 1200 knitted squares were stuffed and packed into bags at the completion of another successful Wrapped With Love knitted squares muster. It was once again extremely well supported by the entire community who enjoyed combining their love of knitting along with their spirit of giving.

The library was the venue for the Junee Red Cross to host their Big Cake Bake in August 2012. An Australia wide event, but the first to be held in Junee, the morning was a pleasing success with over 50 people attending and raising almost $800 for the Red Cross charity.

The Food for Fines campaign continues to be met with great approval with members of the community who are granted the opportunity to clear their outstanding fines by donating non-perishable food items in lieu of fines. The 2012 charities benefiting from the Junee Food for Fines effort were the Salvation Army and the Open Kitchen in Junee.

A Waiting Room Library has been assigned to four waiting rooms in Junee including the Medical Centre and Recreational Centre. Every month the Waiting Room Library ‘pink tubs’ are re-stocked with new books and magazines. It is anticipated that the library can provide these tubs to more and more locations as a way of distributing and promoting library material. Other holiday activities held at the library included Shivers, Wire-crafting Workshop, Croc Encounters, Summer Reading Program, Candlemaking and Scrapbooking.

Programs and Events Children’s Book Week included a visit from Illabo Public School in August 2012. The students listened to one of the winning books and participated in a related craft activity. Two competitions were held: a dot-to-dot competition and book review challenge set by the library. Both competitions were widely supported by the children and local schools with over 100 entries for each competition.

Storytime was held at a local park in August 2012 with 24 children and their carers in attendance. The session involved face-painting, games and special stories.

Far out: Treasures from the Mitchell Library was presented by Paul Brunton, OAM, Senior Curator of the Mitchell Library. Artefacts from the First Fleet were displayed and illuminated by Paul who talked to a small group of enthralled spectators.

A very special visit by author Robin de Crespigny, who read and talked about her experience of writing her award winning book The People Smuggler, was a heart wrenching afternoon filled with stories. Light refreshments were provided to an audience of 20 guests who were captivated by Robin’s account of Ali Al Jenabi, a refugee and convicted people smuggler.

The children’s area of the library underwent a transformation into a play centre and has been decorated with a circus theme, complete with dress up clothes including wigs, hats and flower leis available as well as a play tunnel to crawl through. The children also had items to juggle, wave and entertain themselves with while they were in the library. Each school term the library will continue to choose a new theme for this recreation area.

There has been energizing and new happenings all throughout the year in the library with a focus on recreation, providing a safe haven and fostering the wellbeing of the community. The library has welcomed new ideas and has sought to make changes to improve the experience that our community has when they visit the library. Working alongside many local residents and organisations has built a network of sharing and cohesiveness that has promoted not only the library but other groups and services as well.

Kim Richards Librarian-in-Charge Junee Library

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Talbingo

50

Location

Opening

talbingo@tumut.nsw.gov.au

A member of the Tumut Shire Network of Libraries

Talbingo Library Lampe Street Talbingo NSW 2720 02 69495344

Tuesday 9:00am – 5:00pm (closed 12:30pm – 1:30pm lunch)

Staff members Shirlee Straatsma Chris Gould

Library Assistant Casual Library Assistant

Programs and Events As part of the National Year of Reading 2012, the Talbingo Library participated in the Book Trekkers program. The school children loved the stories, especially Are We There Yet? and participated in a drawing competition of their favourite space. Book prizes were presented by Dr Geoff Pritchard, Tumut Shire Councillor, for each age group.

Another National Year of Reading program taken up by the library was monthly themes. Library staff had a lot of fun setting up the displays for each month.

Storytime sessions each term for these children which included craft activities. The response has been very positive and well received.

Talbingo Library is a joint library with the public school and continues to remind the general community that they are welcome to attend and utilise every Tuesday (except public holidays).

The library participated in the ABC Knit In which was held over several days for people to come and knit. This activity was well attended and participants enjoyed morning tea and lunch while completing six rugs.

The library has had great success working with the school children who continue to grow in their understanding of how the library works. The students are becoming more confident with their borrowing and are even looking at the non fiction books more often, which is quite exciting.

During Book Week school children wrote, illustrated and edited their own books which were presented to the public at a morning tea to 'meet the author'. Morning tea was supplied by the children.

Shirlee Straatsma Library Assistant Talbingo Library

Talbingo Public School Presentation night was held at the library where two Year 6 students were presented with a dictionary each from Tumut Shire Council representatives and library staff. A special library award was handed out and as all the students participated in Book Trekkers program, all students were presented with a library backpack which included, amongst other items, a National Year of Reading 2012 pencil and bookmark.

Partnerships The library has enjoyed partnerships with a number of groups in delivering programs this year including: Murrumbidgee Medicare Local, Cancer Council, ABC Radio, Talbingo Public School, Talbingo Shop and Snowy Hydro.

Collection and Resource Highlights The library has a small collection of local history books relevant to Talbingo and the high country. There are a number of books by Miles Franklin and two large photo albums of Miles Franklin's life. The selection of large print books which were transferred by another library has been well received. The library is continuing to build up a selection of DVDs which are becoming quite popular. The non fiction collection is growing and members are advising of their desire to borrow more of these items. New books are well received and members are enjoying the variety that is on offer.

The library’s many activities and programs held this year have been well attended and many have resulted in new memberships. At the beginning of the school year, the library welcomed new families with pre-school/toddlers in the town and held 51

Temora

52

Location

Opening

library@temora.nsw.gov.au

A member of the Temora Shire Network of Libraries

Temora Library 294 Hoskins Street Temora NSW 2666 02 69771781

Monday to Friday Saturday

10:00am – 5:30pm 10:00am – 12:00pm

Staff members Eileen England Ros Floyd Carmel Porter

Librarian-in-Charge Library Assistant Casual Relief Staff

Programs and Events Temora Library hosted a number of children’s holiday programs and events throughout the year including Puppets, Library 'Lympics and Croc Encounters.

Exhibitions were displayed for Carved Trees, Knitted Garden and Fred Hollows. Themes and programs included activities for Adult Learners Week, Reconciliation Week, Children’s Week, Refugee Week and Law Week.

The library hosted a local history author visit and talk with Noelene Allen, a Girl Guides Jamboree of the Air and ‘Biblio Tourismo’ morning tea.

Partnerships The library has maintained its remote resourcing agreement with TAFE NSW which has been in place since 1995 where the TAFE NSW catalogue is available at the library and items can be borrowed free of charge by TAFE students and teachers as well as access to TAFE NSW resources for the local community.

Library Services The library provides community access to equipment services such as scanner, colour photocopier, colour printer, public access computers, fax machine, laminator, free internet access and microfilm reader/printer.

Collection and Resource Highlights The library aviation collection supports the Temora Aviation Museum collection of wartime aircraft and includes microfilmed Temora Independent newspapers from 1895 to 2012 plus miscellaneous mining journals. Ariah Park News, local and family history resources, DVDs and CDs are also available.

The library continues to maintain its use as a community hub. Several community groups use the library's meeting rooms on a weekly basis. Two successful book sales were held during the year with proceeds used to provide additional material and resources for the library collection.

Eileen England Librarian-in-Charge Temora Library

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Tumut

54

Location

Opening

library@tumut.nsw.gov.au

A member of the Tumut Shire Network of Libraries

Tumut Library 169 Wynyard Street Tumut NSW 2720 02 69412541

Monday to Friday Saturday

10:00am – 6:00pm 9:00am – 12:00pm

Staff members Kristin Twomey Rhonda Twomey Leanne Ballard Sharon Thatcher

Librarian-in-Charge Library Assistant Library Assistant Library Assistant

Programs and Events Tumut Library received a $500 grant as part of the Public Libraries Australia National Year of Reading initiative. The grant funds were used to develop the school holiday Design a Library Bag activity and as a result of the program’s success, the activity was also presented at a number of local childcare and school centres as well as Elderly Daycare. In all, some 300 library bags were designed and are now in use. What was meant to be a one off holiday program has now morphed into an ongoing library activity. The program featured as part of the NSW National Year of Reading Review which was held at Blacktown Library. Librarian Kristin Twomey presented a brief overview of the program, its implementation and development and its expansion for 2013. Tumut’s program was one of only six featured as part of the day’s review.

The library hosted a number of author visits. Liz Harfull presented an afternoon session on her new book, Women of the Land, which hit the national bestseller list for non fiction shortly after its launch earlier this year. A fascinating insight was provided into how Liz was asked by Allen & Unwin, publishers, to write the book and how she went about finding, selecting and researching the stories included. Courtney Collins is a bright new Australian author championed by Allen & Unwin Publishers.

Courtney presented an evening session on her debut novel, The Burial. The library also hosted Robin De Crespigny, author of The People Smuggler. The award winning author presented a talk on her book and aimed to challenge thinking in relation to boat people. Robin was very passionate and thought provoking.

The library received a NSW Public Library Marketing Award, which was presented as part of the National Year of Reading Review held at Blacktown Library. Tumut Library won the award for the Paper Bag Poets Competition which was run in conjunction with the town’s Festival of the Falling Leaf.

Lunch Time Poets was a spin off to the festival’s poetry competition. Category winners had their poems printed onto lunch bags which were distributed to local takeaway shops and food vendors for use over the Festival weekend. As part of the prize, the library received a marketing package donated by Roger Henshaw Consultancy Services.

The library hosted renowned author Hazel Edwards during Seniors Week. Hazel presented a one day workshop on How to Write a Non Boring Family History. The workshop proved extremely popular with Hazel providing a different view to the manner of presenting family history research. Hazel also conducted two writing workshops for school children on how to write a mystery story and also presented a public Storytime around her book, There is an Elephant on the Roof Eating Cake.

Hazel’s visit was jointly funded through grant funding from Seniors Week NSW and Tumut Shire Council.

Partnerships Librarian Kristin Twomey presented a talk to Tumut’s Men’s and Women’s Probus Club.

The talk focused on the value of public libraries and what the local library can do and deliver for seniors. The talk was very well received by the group and resulted in a number of new memberships with the library.

The library participated in Family History Week activities hosting joint sessions with the Tumut Family History Group. The sessions were well attended by those in the community wanting assistance with family history enquiries.

Together with the Tumut Shire Community Development Team, the library participated in the Tumut Rotary and Christmas in Tumut Committee Market Day by hosting a children’s art and craft tent. The library made and gave away children’s Christmas bags which came complete with reindeer food. It was a fantastic morning and a great way to take the library service outside the building.

During the month of December, the Tumut Shire participated in the Food for Fines initiative. As a result of the overwhelming response to this initiative, the library developed the Library Gift Tree. The Gift Tree encouraged members of the public to place a small gift under the tree which would be distributed by St Vincent de Paul for those less fortunate in the community. A massive response was received and St Vincent de Paul was inundated with gifts for all age groups. St Vincent de Paul staff informed us that as a result of the Library Gift Tree, children registered with the local organisation would receive between 3-4 gifts.

Librarian Kristin Twomey manned a stall at the Tumut Region Aged Care Forum. The stall aimed to promote the various services available to senior residents via their local library. It was a very successful outing and it is anticipated that the library can continue to be a part of this forum into the future.

Collection and Resource Highlights The library organised and hosted a highly successful Kevin Hennah workshop. Kevin Hennah has worked closely with libraries since 2002 on strategies to maximise productivity of space and improve presentation and image. During this time he has visited in excess of 800 libraries throughout Australia, New Zealand, America, Asia and Europe.

55

The Cultural Weeding Workshop examined library culture, image, promotion and resources with Kevin posing thought-provoking ideas on why libraries need to weed more than just their print collections to remain relevant.

The Tumut Shire has once again had an exciting and jam-packed year. Library Assistant, Rhonda Twomey, received local recognition for her outstanding commitment to the library when she was nominated for the Tumut Region Business Award – Employee of the Year. An excellent and well deserved nomination for Rhonda who also recently completed her Certificate IV Library Services via distance education with North Coast TAFE. Librarian, Kristin Twomey was nominated as Australia's Favourite Librarian. The Australian Library and Information Association together with Love2Read were searching for Australia's Favourite Librarian. Kristin’s nomination recognises her efforts in “changes to the Tumut library, her passion for the library, its users and reading”.

The library launched local author Anneque Machell’s book, Ain’t No Rest For The Wicked, which is book one of her fantasy series: The Fallouts. Anneque is a long time member of the library.

The library underwent renovations in April which included the laying of new carpet and shelving rearrangements. The library team undertook a massive job in moving the entire collection and associated furniture. It was a very big week but was well worth the effort. The end result is fantastic and the library now looks fresh and rejuvenated.

Kristin Twomey Librarian-in-Charge Tumut Library

56

The Tumut Library received a NSW Public Library Marketing Award, which was presented as part of the National Year of Reading Review held at Blacktown Library. Tumut Library won the award for the Paper Bag Poets Competition which was run in conjunction with the town’s Festival of the Falling Leaf.

Robin De Crespigny (left), author of The People Smuggler at Tumut Library

57

Wagga Wagga

Location

Opening

Staff members

Wagga Wagga City Library Civic Centre Cnr Baylis & Morrow Streets Wagga Wagga NSW 2650 02 69269700

Monday Tuesday to Friday Saturday

Wagga Wagga City Library Claire Campbell Manager Library Services

wcl@wagga.nsw.gov.au

58

11:00am – 7:00pm 10:00am – 7:00pm 10:00am – 5:00pm

Information Services/Circulation Team Margot Lumley Information Services

Librarian Kate Webber Senior Circulation and

Facility Officer Sarah Hofsteede Information Assistant Michelle Lubke Library Assistant Jenny Mansell Library Assistant

Wagga Wagga City Library Staff Members (continued) Simon Malloy Kristy Diffey Nerida Barkley Marc Evans Matthew Dawes

Library Assistant Library Assistant Library Assistant Library Assistant Library Assistant

Programs, Promotions and Partnerships Team Amy Heap Readers Services Librarian Christine Bolton Team Leader Carol Slattery Programs Assistant Jeannie Nicholls (Hazell) Programs Officer Michael Scutti Programs Officer Caitlin Enever Programs Officer Damien Ferguson Programs Officer Jessica Brown Programs Officer Andrea Kurta Home Library Officer Deirdre Coggan Centrelink Placement Library Casuals Marita Macklin Jackie Sellars Gemma Hawkins Belinda Owen Toby Mobbs Matthew Griffin Izera Mazambo Caroline Canduso Ebony Neal Volunteers Home Library 30 Friends of the Library 20

Wagga Wagga City Library provided a total of 316 Programs and 38 Displays for the year.

A number of outreach services were provided to the community including: • • • • • • • •

Probus Club Talk Scienza Viva Science workshops Ashmont Community Centre x 2 Flowerdale Rotary Talk Drug Action Week Event at Bolton Park Storytime - Good Start Pre-School Storytime - Ashmont Pre-School Summer Reading Club Untangled Tales NAIDOC Week event

The library facilitated library tours for the following schools over the year: • • • • • • • • •

Turvey Park Primary School Wagga Wagga Christian College Mount Austin Primary School Mater Dei Catholic College The Riverina Anglican College Kooringal High School Riverina Community College Multicultural Summer School Job Centre Australia

Early Literacy programs were delivered for before-school aged children including two Baby Bounce 4 week programs and two Speech Therapy 6 week programs. A number of programs for school aged children were also provided including: • • • • • •

School Holiday Lego Land Activities 5-8yrs Lego Land 9+yrs Little Big Day Out Festival Big Book Films Author Deb Abela sessions Crocodile Encounters

The library facilitated a number of programs for youth in the community including: • •

HSC Lock-In Henna Workshop 59

• • • • • •

Yr 12 Personal Interest Projects Study (PIPS) Session Charles Sturt University Acting Workshop Re:generate Youth Festival Tangara School for Girls visit Summer Reading Club – The Reading Games ABC Open Blogging Workshop with Sonya Gee

Adults and seniors were also well catered for over the year with the following diverse programs: Author Talks • Booranga Writers Events • 4W annual Book Launch • Holly Kerr Forsyth • Tess Graham • Sherry Morris • Robin de Crespigny • Courtney Collins Seminars • Good Will Day • Law Week – Family Law FAQ • ABC Open Writing Workshops • ABC Open 500 Words Workshops • ABC Open Video Postcards Workshops • CWA Annual Country of Study Events • Breast Cancer Book Launch • English Class for Chinese Workers • Library Lounge Annual RRL Book Club Party • Strays and Waifs Book Club Meeting • Summer Reading Club – Relaxing Summer Reads • Club Celluloid Film Nights • Wagga Wagga Floods 2012 Oral History Launch • Friends of the Library Book Sales

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Programs and Events A project highlight for the year was the Wagga Wagga Floods 2012 Oral History Project held in partnership with the State Library of NSW. The flood in North Wagga Wagga and surrounding areas in March 2012 had a heavy impact on the local region coming only eighteen months after the flood in December 2010. The damage resulting from storms and floodwater affected thousands of people across the region and the Wagga Wagga local government area. The decision to evacuate some 8,000 residents at short notice and the inundation of 240 homes in North Wagga tested the community’s resilience.

In 2012 the State Library of NSW commissioned a small number of oral histories with a focus on extreme weather events within communities. Wagga Wagga City Library was delighted to act on this partnership and nominated award-winning author, Sherry Morris, to conduct the flood interviews. Thirty people were interviewed between June 2012 and January 2013 and what resulted was a wonderfully diverse set of interviews.

The interviews provided multiple perspectives replete with a wealth of information, from the technicalities of levee construction and pump systems, to the failure of contemporary kitchen carpentry in withstanding water damage. They included a large number of North Wagga residents as well as emergency service workers, council workers, farmers, young people, elderly citizens, and recent immigrants.

This oral history project created an important record of community perceptions of an extreme climate event. The interviews are available as digital sound files at both the Wagga Wagga City Library and the State Library of NSW. These provide a valuable resource both for the Wagga Wagga community and other communities that live in flood prone areas. The NSW State Librarian and Chief Executive, Dr Alex Byrne, said at the launch of the project at the Wagga Wagga City Library in February 2013: “Allowing communities to tell their own story is vital and, thanks to our partnership with Wagga Wagga City Library, locals now have a valuable record of personal narratives on this major event”.

A highlight of outreach services provided by the library was the Science Workshops held at the library. Scienza Viva workshops were run during January with funding from the Australian Government’s Inspiring Australia program. The funding was contingent on it being spent in regional areas with a low socio-economic advantage and with a substantial Indigenous population. The target audiences were students in two categories: upper primary or junior high school with activities ranging from fun science workshops to solving a murder through careful observation of items of evidence.

It was a requirement that the parents of the children also attend the workshops to foster a continued interest in science into the future. Wagga Wagga City Library scheduled three sessions onsite and then invited other partners to also host sessions.

As a result over 400 children attended sessions across four days in Wagga Wagga with the library, Museum of the Riverina, Tolland Community Centre and the Multicultural Summer School all participating. The workshops were a huge success with parents also attending so that they could encourage their children to consider the possibility of science as a career.

Partnerships The library maintains a number of successful partnerships and a few highlights for the year include Indigenous Storytime held in partnership with Murrumbidgee Health.

Since May, over 100 parents and toddlers attended the weekly sessions including a recent influx of Dads! The group developed its own momentum with high retention rates and parents took the opportunity to lead some sessions. There were also planned special guests by other service providers to do a soft sell of services like speech therapy, nutrition and other community services. As a group they developed a strong sense of ownership of the library as their community space which had resulted from the trust that has been built up over time. Traditionally this was a hard target audience to attract to the library. Future plans will build on this early literacy success story and raise an awareness of other library services that the whole family can access and enjoy.

to receive renewed funding for this project as it has grown on a steady basis and met the needs of members and their volunteers. “This is a wonderful service I don’t know why more people aren’t receiving it”. (Home Library Member). “Thank you so much for matching me so well with my ladies, they are delightful”. (Volunteer).

Library Services and Equipment • The new Community Learning Space was completed in December with the following facilities: hearing loop; ceiling speaker and sound system; Smartboard and WiFi. This flexible training environment has been used for a diverse number of activities and groups • ChargeBar service to allow customers to charge their mobile phones, smart devices and laptops • 35 eReaders were purchased and loaded with genre based titles and made available for loan • 10 iPads were purchased for Community Learning Classes • New Xbox games and board games were added to the existing collection • Multiple Lego Kits were purchased for school holiday programs • Hearing loop installed • Sensory Wall for small children and community members with a disability installed

Another successful partnership was the Home Library partnership and research project with Home and Community Care. Wagga Wagga City Library developed their innovative partnership with the local Murrumbidgee Home and Community Care (HACC) service to use the Home Library Service as a soft entry point into people’s homes who would also benefit from HACC support services. Trained library volunteers act as referral agents back to HACC if they notice that their client needs more assistance because of a change in their circumstances. Recurrent funding was announced for another year which will grow the service throughout the next twelve months. Funding will assist with a research project to measure the benefits of overcoming social isolation for the people at home and active volunteering for fit and able people looking for a different type of volunteering. Volunteers were fully trained and police checked. This pilot program will provide a model for other libraries to find partnerships with mutually beneficial outcomes. With an ageing population this is a real growth area and one that the library has embraced. By June there were 30 clients and 26 volunteers. External promotion for the service included brochures on display at all local medical centres, signage in Aged Care Facilities and regular appearances at any forums or groups of service providers by the Home Library Officer, Andrea Kurta. The library was delighted 61

Collection and Resource Highlights One of the collection highlights for the library includes the Digitisation of Early Newspapers - The first 50 Years project. The library has a complete set of the local newspapers on microfilm dating back to 1865. Accessible as printouts or scanned copies, they have long proved to be an invaluable resource for library members and visitors. However, thanks to a strong local partnership the first 50 years of newspapers were digitised and made available on the internet. The project was officially launched in May with a special feature in the Daily Advertiser. Almost $50,000 was raised with a mixture of private donations and funds from the following major partners: Wagga Wagga City Council, the Wagga Wagga and District Historical Society, Charles Sturt University and the Wagga Daily Advertiser Pty Ltd. The council contribution was mostly grant funds secured through the State Library of NSW. It is hoped that the project will continue to grow and eventually secure enough funds to digitise the complete newspaper collection in the future.

The annual hardcopy Community Directory, the library TV advertising campaign, a consistent media presence through print and radio columns, and an ongoing social media dialogue ensured that the library communicated often and consistently with the community. This resulted in growth in both loans and door traffic with 303,772 library titles borrowed and 197,485 people visiting the library. There was also a growth in program attendance and a strong consolidation of adult participation with 42 Book Clubs operating through Wagga Wagga City Library.

Libraries are dynamic community spaces where members and visitors gather to pursue their learning and recreational goals across their whole life cycle. They are also both physical and virtual spaces with multiple access points ranging from downloadable eContent and social media interactions to personal interaction with a friendly staff member or a fellow library user.

The year ahead will bring new challenges and opportunities in the NBN roll out, the streamlining of outdated processes, and the realignment of core services while operating with a reduced level of staffing. By being both innovative and strategic the library will maintain a benchmark service and endeavour to delight and surprise library customers both in-house and online.

Wagga Wagga City Library embraced the expansion of eContent by providing eReaders to borrow and classes to learn how make them more accessible. The library also made physical changes and invested in additional occasional seating this year to create a more flexible space that could facilitate dynamic programming and collaborative learning. This year the newly built Community Learning Space replaced a considerable amount of physical shelving and non fiction resources. The new room funded by the Colin Enderby Estate and State Government funding was fitted with a hearing loop, WiFi, a Smartboard and a state of the art sound system in the ceiling. It has been used for films, technology classes, eReader classes, legal and financial planning seminars, author talks and book launches, school holiday sessions, community group meetings and safer driver classes. A hearing loop was also installed in the children’s area which was the monthly venue for Club Celluloid Film Club events.

Claire Campbell Manager Library Services Wagga Wagga City Library

Wagga Wagga’s population of 63,500 included 4,673 people born overseas, (30% who arrived in the last 5 years), and, 2,738 Indigenous residents. This ongoing change in demographics was reflected in the increasing number of Inter Library Loans for Multicultural Language resources and the success of the new Indigenous Storytime program.

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The strongest asset in any business is its people and the staff at Wagga Wagga City Library and their colleagues across Riverina Regional Library worked together to make a sound platform to deliver a raft of relevant and highly valued collections and services to the community. Over the last year the consistent feedback from customers is that they value highly “the friendly helpful staff” as well as resources and services.

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2012-2013 Statistics

64

2012-2013 Statistics

65

2012-2013 Statistics

66

2012-2013 Statistics

67

2012-2013 Contributions Riverina Regional Library Member Council Contributions 2011-2012

COOLAMON % Population of RRL

3.8%

COOTAMUNDRA

7.0%

GREATER HUME 3.7%

GUNDAGAI 3.5%

JUNEE 5.7%

LOCKHART 3.0%

TEMORA 5.6%

TUMUT 10.4%

TOTAL

57.3%

100%

Mobile Running & Capital Costs

$20,072

$14,200

$25,304

$47,191

$106,767

Mobile Wages

$16,991

$12,020

$21,420

$39,947

$90,378

$116,713

$116,713

Base Contribution Distribute Balance of HQ Costs

$23,387

$42,703

$22,885

$21,559

$34,796

$18,332

$34,343

$63,427

$350,837

$612,269

HQ Wages

$35,015

$63,933

$34,262

$32,277

$52,096

$27,446

$51,418

$94,960

$525,260

$916,666

SUB-TOTAL

$95,465

$106,636

$83,367

$53,835

$86,892

$92,501

$85,761

$158,387

$1,079,949

$1,842,793

GST

$9,547

$10,664

$8,337

$5,384

$8,689

$9,250

$8,576

$15,839

$107,995

$184,279

$105,012

$117,299

$91,703

$59,219

$95,582

$101,751

$94,337

$174,226

$1,187,943

$2,027,072

TOTAL AMOUNT PAYABLE

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WAGGA

2012-2013 Population

Riverina Regional Library Distribution of Population Council

Population

% of Region

Coolamon

4,233

3.82%

Cootamundra

7,729

6.97%

Greater Hume

4,142

3.74%

Gundagai

3,902

3.52%

Junee

6,298

5.68%

Lockhart

3,318

2.99%

Temora

6,216

5.61%

Tumut

11,480

10.36%

Wagga Wagga

63,500

57.30%

110,818

100.00%

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Future 2013-2014 Expansion of Riverina Regional Library In February 2013 the Upper Murray Regional Library (UMRL) Board resolved to cease operation from 1 July 2013.

Four of the former UMRL NSW Councils (Corowa, Tumbarbumba, Urana and the balance of Greater Hume) formally requested admission to Riverina Regional Library (RRL). The RRL Advisory Committee and Executive Council agreed to these requests and a transition working group was appointed.

As from 1 July 2013 RRL will be providing services to 12 local government areas making it the largest regional library service in NSW in terms of participating member Councils.

RRL’s profile will now include: • 18 stationary libraries • 2 Mobile Libraries serving 60 communities including 18 in Victoria • 134,360 residents across the region • 39,270 sq km or 5% of the total area of NSW or 60% of the total area of Tasmania!

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Our Staff To meet the additional demands of providing centralised library services to three new member Councils, five new library branches and additional mobile library servicing an extra 31 communities, RRL has undertaken a review of the organisational structure. With a focus on clients and delivering additional services, programs and collection formats, RRL looked at new ways of achieving its objectives with a view to managing change and redirecting the energy of the organisation to develop an ‘enabled’ organisational structure that aligned with the culture of the organisation.

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